Moronacity Cycling Journal » Health and Nutrition

In Spite of Cheese and Meat

Diane Ursu — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 03:25:15 +0000

Someone who works in my building saw me, today, and said, from the other end of the hallway, “You look really good! You’re looking slimmer!”

Do you have any idea how good that made me feel? I’m looking slimmer! Someone noticed! Do I think I’m slimmer? No. Do I weigh less? Not yet. Someone thinks I look slimmer, though!

I’ve been so down on myself about my weight, lately, so I felt my face go aglow and my smile beam when I heard this compliment. It’s almost as if it were the first time I received it, but I guess it really depends on my current frame of mind.

I have heard this before, and almost always when I have not lost weight, but when I started exercising regularly, like now. I’ve been pretty good, this week! In addition to regular exercise, I’ve been a little more reserved with my diet, and I’m working on eating more fruit, again. That’s not always so easy, especially when my cravings are for cheese and meat. How odd a woman am I? My cravings aren’t for donuts or milk chocolate. I want cheese and meat!

My biggest issue has been with bloating. I am a woman—for those of you who haven’t figured it out—so I do suffer regular bloat cycles predetermined by my DNA. Unfortunately, I add to it by eating high-sodium foods, particularly when I go out. If I drink beer instead of iced tea, that doesn’t help. After all, the tea will wash out the salt, and that will keep me from getting so darn bloated to begin with! Beer consumption, well, I’m pretty sure you’ve experienced that for yourself.

Perhaps my operator’s manual goes something like this:

Diet keeps things working well.
Exercise strengthens, stretches, energizes, and slims.

Seems simple, doesn’t it?

Art and Swill

Diane Ursu — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:44:50 +0000

My good friend, Mr. Wall, posted a link to The Pour Fool’s “Why I Don’t Drink Budweiser…and Why I’m Not Alone” on Facebook. My burning anti-passion for Budweiser, the King of Swill, compelled me to click on the link. I can’t possibly describe how strong was the desire in me to click on the link. I strongly recommend you drink, I mean, read it; especially if you are a fan of true American beer, such as Founder’s, Dark Horse, and Dragonmead (if you want truly great American beer, you should start with Michigan).

Steve Body gave a fascinating history of Swillweiser. The part that really struck me as insulting was:

…Bud, the mild, aggressively-inoffensive, watery Pilsner, a style that originated in Czechoslavakia as a ladies’ beer; a wimpy alternative for the delicate palates of proper Czech ladies who couldn’t stand the big German Alts and Lagers or the muscular Belgian ales.

I’m glad I’m not a Czech lady. They sound like wussies. I am not particularly fond of Pilsners. In fact, you will very rarely catch me drinking one, and it will most likely be in a sampler, or I might try it because a friend says, “Here, Di, try this!” For the most part, for me, “Pilsner” means “do not drink.”

Mr. Body addressed a point that some Bud enthusiasts might bring up, erring on the side of ignorance and bad taste: drinking Bud is supporting an American company. Uh, no. It’s not, and as they say in Weight Watchers, if you don’t really like it (actually, if you don’t love it), don’t eat or drink it.

Personally, I view beer and wine as art. I used to frequently go to wine tastings when I lived in Appleton, Wisconsin. When I moved back to Michigan, my love for Michigan microbrews not only really truly began to develop, but immensely grew. I had two microbreweries in my wonderful little town of Houghton: the Keweenaw Brewing Company and the Library. I miss them both, dearly. Fortunately, Michigan is hopping with microbreweries, and I have an excellent one about a mile from my office. Even though I have a mental list of why that could be bad, I still find myself asking, “How can that be so bad?”

While my palate strongly favors Michigan microbrews, it travels afar for wine. I love Pinot Noirs from the Willamette Valley in Oregon; reds from the Alexander Valley, Knights Valley, and Russian River Valley in California; Burgundies and Bordeaux (especially the Medoc region of Bordeaux); and many German whites, although I’ve had a wonderful ice wine from Canada. Australia really can be a bit much for me, but I’ve also had some amazing wines from there, usually wines that truly benefit from decanting.

Some of the larger, more “corporate” wine producers do produce excellent wines, especially if you’re willing to pay $25 to $45 for a bottle, but considering the price difference between Budweiser and a truly wonderful craft brew, that really shouldn’t be a surprise.

My point is that the art of the fermented beverage is something that transcends nationality. Most of us are going to buy a beer because it tastes good, and if you read this blog, you are probably one of those people who seeks out beers that will knock your socks off. If you find a foreign beer that causes your heart to leap for joy and your spirit to soar, you’re going to drink it, dammit! The origin does not matter, and this is how it should be.

Fortunately, Michigan has some of the finest arteests creating masterpieces in cozy microbreweries across the state. Most of them distribute and we drink it up like it’s no one’s business.

As for Bud, well, apparently, most of the “men” traipsing around the Midwest wearing their favorite “cor” racing shirt and bellying up to the bar for a cold glass of Budweiser are nothing more than proper Czech ladies with delicate palates.

Help Me Win Beer!

Diane Ursu — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 23:26:58 +0000

Per Sherwood:

CHALLENGE: Invite friends to “like” our page. Once they click the “like” button, ask them to write your name on our wall…On September 15, we will add up the names on our wall and the person who got the most new “likes” for us will win a $50 gift certificate to use toward any event at Motor City Brew Tours AND a $50 gift card to Sherwood Brewing Company…could make for a perfect day out! Contest ends 9/16/11.

So be nice. Visit Sherwood’s Facebook page, “Like” it, and then write my name on their wall: Diane Ursu. Just like that.

Morning Neck Pain

Diane Ursu — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 14:27:30 +0000

I was proud of myself. I went to bed fairly early, last night (before midnight), and thought for sure that I would be up in time to grab a light breakfast of fruit and yogurt and work out by 9 a.m. Things didn’t quite go that way.

I woke up around 8:30 and was more than happy to get out of bed. I felt well-rested and was ready to greet the day . . . until I tried to engage in the physical act of actually getting out of bed. OW! The right side of my neck hurt so badly! It was almost debilitating. I had to grab that part of my neck – and upper shoulder – to aid in sitting up through the pain.

Instead of fruit and yogurt, I opted for a glass of Ovaltine to accompany the two aspirin that I hoped would be my savior. With that much pain, I should have made it three. I filled a plastic bag with ice and propped myself up against it in a chair. It brought a little relief. I then decided to massage in some “Muscle Rub.” It must have been the massaging, or perhaps the fact that I was rubbing it in with my right hand (remember, it is my right neck that is hurting), but my neck hurt pretty badly after I stopped massaging.

Fortunately, cool tingles started to overcome my neck. They were soothing. Even if they serve only to mask the pain, it is so much better than the sharp, throbbing reminder of whichever weird position I took during my slumber.

I am hopeful that I will be able to do my workout at noon, but I also realize that I may have to postpone it until 4, or maybe skip it altogether.

Red, Dotted Lines on the Shoulder: Petechiae

Diane Ursu — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 11:00:22 +0000

Did you ever think that you could injure yourself simply by putting forth a lot of effort, all the while thinking that you’re working completely within your limit? That’s what I did a few weeks ago.

I was doing the shoulders and arms workout from Gilad’s Quick Fit System. Like all of his strength-training workouts, it’s freakin’ hard, especially for me and my wimpy, little arms . . . or not so little arms, but wimpy, nonetheless. I put an honestly hard effort into it, dropping the weight when I felt like my shoulders couldn’t take it anymore. I did exactly what I’ve been doing since I started working out with Gilad in early December.

Two days later, I noticed something quite odd on my shoulder. I had never seen anything like this, before; but knew that it had to be related to my shoulder workout. After all, the affected area was my shoulder! There were red stripes on my right shoulder, almost like scratches, except they weren’t, and they were dotted, like something that was created by a dot-matrix printer. You remember those, don’t you?

It wasn’t until shortly after that I noticed my shoulder started to feel sore. It felt like I had overdone it in a bad way – not a “wow, I’m out of shape and this workout kicked my butt” kind of way, but a “holy crap, I didn’t realize my hard effort was causing injury” kind of way.

It was very difficult to find anything on the Internet that actually matched my condition. Most of what I could find were forums where people with similar marks would ask about them, and then all of the “Internet docs” would give crazy diagnoses that I knew absolutely were not the case. Finally, I found the answer on some weight-training website that was buried deep in the Google search results. After verifying it with a more reputable site, I had my self-diagnosis: petechiae (puh-TEE-kee-ee).

According to the article, “Petechiae,” by the Mayo Clinic, “Petechiae are pinpoint, round spots that appear on the skin as a result of bleeding under the skin. Petechiae may look like a rash. Usually flat to the touch, petechiae don’t lose color (blanch) when you press on them.” Petechiae occur when capillaries hemorrhage and the blood leaks to the skin. Capillaries are the smallest blood vessels where the blood releases oxygen into the tissues and picks up the carbon dioxide waste. Petechiae can be a sign of a very serious condition, but it can also occur from weight training.

Fortunately, my shoulders and arms workouts are a week apart, so the petechiae subsided in time for me to repeat the abuse. Fortunately, the condition has not returned.

Operation Brew Review – Traverse City Edition

Diane Ursu — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 11:00:55 +0000

On Sunday, August 29, Ali and I decided to head to Traverse City to do a brew review of the different brew pubs. We judged the breweries on five things:

friendliness;
atmosphere;
service;
beer;
bathroom stall size (we didn’t really check all of them â€“ so four criteria).

I chose to rate these on a scale of one to five, with five being the best.

Mackinaw Brewing Company

The Mackinaw Brewing Company was our first stop. We had just ridden the Vasa singletrack and were hungry. We ordered our brews and began drinking while waiting for our appetizer. My stomach was so empty, I could feel the beer fall into my stomach and make a splash. It was pretty bizarre. It feels different than water.

I had the “Red 8 Ale.” It is a malty, red ale. It’s flavor was okay, but it didn’t have much body. Ali had the “Belgian Whitecap” and said that it was, “perfect after a long, hot ride.”

We sat at the bar. The bartender was incredibly friendly and gave us fast service. I rated the atmosphere as a “3.5″ for fair, because it was a nice place, but it just didn’t make me feel like staying there. The beer was average.

Friendliness: 5
Atmosphere: 3.5
Service: 5
Beer: 3

North Peak Brewing Company

North Peak Brewing Company was our second stop. We had dinner at North Peak just two nights before, but the service was awful. We were told that that person might have been there temporarily. When we went for the brew review, the service was fine. They were not busy and we sat at the bar.

I drank the Steelhead Red at Friday night’s dinner, and Ali and I shared the Mission Point Porter during our brew review. Neither beer had much of an aroma and both were light-bodied.

The restaurant is beautiful, but the bar area doesn’t seem very cozy and conducive to Cheers-style mingling.

Friendliness: 3.5
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 5
Beer: 3

Right Brain Brewery

I was informed that Right Brain Brewery appealed to the liberal crowd, so that may explain the coffee-shop feel to this pub of big brews. Right Brain likes hops. It isn’t Foundersesque, so that means that I was able to enjoy my beer.

I found it odd that they have various medical chairs in one section of their brew pub/shop. Some of those chairs can be seen in the picture, below. I thought the picture was a wonderful work, and Ali was amazed that it consisted of…BEADS! There was also a car picture made of beads. According to Ali, “The beaded artwork was kick asssss.”

We ordered two different flavors. To be honest, I can’t remember the names of the ones we got, but I know that one was definitely a seasonal amber with quite a bit of hop flavor. The other was an ESB. I like ESBs, but I think I ended up liking their amber better.

One noted problem: the growler jugs are clear, so bring your own brown growler if you intend to take some Right Brain home with you.

I found Right Brain to be my favorite of the three brew pubs in our brew review. They also produced light-bodied brews.

Friendliness: 5
Atmosphere: 4.5
Service: 5
Beer: 3.5

Kilkenny’s Irish Pub House

We moved onto a local pub called Kilkenny’s Irish Pub House. Ali really likes that place, and I found that I REALLY liked that place. It was super dark, but good beer was to be had as well as an Irish band. This place is quite cozy. There are probably only about 8 items on the menu.

After Kilkenny’s, we headed downtown to find some food. We saw this:

Talk about a fashion faux pas.

We also had some spectacular pizza at the U & I Lounge, a Greek restaurant. We had a great tomato and feta pizza.

Zinc Oxide and Acne

Diane Ursu — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:05:22 +0000

I’ve noticed that my skin has been fairly clear over the last few weeks. This is important because I usually have horrible breakouts, especially just prior to that special time of the month that only women experience.

I’ve been doing some research on the benefits of zinc oxide in relation to skin health. This research started with poison ivy treatment. I think I may have my first case of contact dermatitis in response to poison ivy exposure. We’ll see. I don’t have the classic poison ivy rash, and the timing is a bit off in comparison to my last known exposure to poison ivy, so I will be doing a spot test when my current itchy spots clear.

Zinc taken orally is known to relieve acne. I did not know this. Topical zinc, especially zinc oxide, is beneficial to the skin and may also relieve acne. In fact, it is suspected to minimize acne scarring.

Tuesday, I decided to stop using Lidocaineâ€“commonly known as hydrocortisoneâ€“in favor of Desitin. Mom first used Desitin for my diaper rash in the very early days of Di. Desitin was also the miracle drug of choice for bee and wasp stings as well as burns. To this day, Desitin resides in the Ursu medicine cabinet in the absence of any baby Ursu.

Desitin is working wonders for my itchy spots, so I decided to take a peek at the main ingredient. It is zinc oxide. Zinc oxide is the key ingredient in Calamine lotion. In fact, zinc oxide is mixed with a small amount of iron(III) oxide to make Calamine.

What do poison ivy, Desitin, and zinc oxide have to do with my clearer skin? Research. While doing my zinc oxide research, I discovered that insulin-controlling diets are said to help control acne. I’ve been on an insulin-controlling dietâ€“The Zone. This is the same diet that has contributed to a 10-pound weight loss and my improved cycling performance. My Zone status has been somewhat stagnant since I got sick, but I’ve been doing alright throughout my diseased state. In addition, I am thinking about testing zinc oxide for acne control.

Devoid of Di

Diane Ursu — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 16:06:37 +0000

Many wonderful, mountain biking-related opportunities occurred this past weekend:

National Trails Day;
High Country Pathway ride and camping trip;
Hanson Hills CPS race.

I did not participate in any of these events. It’s really quite sad.

I’ve participated in National Trails Day activities since I began doing trail work in 2007. I was absent, this past weekend. I was supposed to go to the High Country Pathway ride and possibly show up at Hanson Hills to cheer on some friends. Again, I was absent. Why?

Well.

I’ve been sick. I started out with general crabbiness on Monday and Tuesday. I don’t know if that is related to my illness, but it really isn’t far-fetched. I was still feeling out of sorts. Wednesday, I began having some very mild symptoms, and those symptoms convinced me that I was coming down with something on Thursday. Friday, the symptoms worsened, and I told my friend, Jon, that I would not be joining him, Ali, Glen, and Brad on the HCP ride.

Saturday took the cake – at least it did at the time. I woke up and slowly walked into the family room at a snail’s pace. I had no energy and I felt like death warmed overâ€¦at least I thought so; then Sunday happened. It was a repeat of Saturday, only I felt worse that morning.

Monday, I felt a little better, which is a good thing. You see, I had to get up at 6:00 a.m. so I could shower and take my mom to her doctor’s appointment at Michigan State because I know the campus. I hopped in the shower and was only too happy to get cleaned up, because I was pretty sure I had the stale funk of a typical hospital patient by Monday morning.

After I finished sudsing up and putting conditioner in my hair, I grabbed the shower hose to rinse off. At the commencement of operation rinse-off, I suddenly felt a whoosh of light-headedness combined with that whooshing sound one hears when passing out becomes a great possibility.

I rinsed as fast as I could, and hastily got out of the shower, grabbed my towel, and half-wrapped it around my body as I ran to my room. I sprawled the towel out on the floor and laid on it while propping my feet on the dresser. I was pretty sure that passing out was a reality, but I managed to escape that fate. Instead, I lay there listening to the somewhat-alarming whooshing sound, wishing it would go away. It subsided after a couple of minutes, but I still heard a little whoosh and had a little of that odd feeling for the next couple of hours.

When it was time to go, I told mom she had to drive. Yup – I banned myself from driving for the day.

I’m still sick, today. I certainly have more energy. In fact, I was able to write this post, which was something I was completely unable to do, this weekend. I still have a cough, I still feel sick, and I feel fluid in my right ear. It sucks.

The bad news is that I think I might have to decline Jon’s demand, as per our Friday phone call, to show up at this coming weekend’s Addison Oaks camping trip. We’ll see.

That’s my sob story, and I’m sticking to it.

In the Zone

Diane Ursu — Fri, 28 May 2010 17:05:13 +0000

I was pleasantly surprised on Wednesday – truly surprised. I was heading into East Lansing to see a friend play at a local brew pub. It’s a nicer place, so I could dress up a little bit.

I decided to try on some denim shorts that haven’t fit me since last year, after the massive weight gain of Fall/Winter 2009-2010 (we’re talking 30 pounds). Wednesday, the shorts fit, and they were even a little too loose. This would not normally be a problem because I could just throw on a belt, but the particular style of these shorts didn’t go too well with the tunic that I was wearing.

Hmmm…

Enter other, smaller, denim shorts. I was shocked. A couple of weeks ago, I couldn’t even zip these things up. Wednesday, I was wearing them out on the town. You have no idea how happy this made me.

I started my special diet on Sunday, May 9. It was the weekend after the Fort Custer Stampede, when I DNFed because I just wasn’t feeling it. I felt like crap. I looked like crap. I needed to do something about it.

On May 9, in the middle of the day, I started my new diet and headed out for an aggressive hill workout on the bike. It was a new beginning.

Now, almost two weeks later, I am feeling much better, my clothes are starting to fit, and I’m getting faster and stronger on the bike. My legs are starting to look good, again. Here are some simple stats:

8 pounds lost;
1.5 inches lost around the hips;
1.75 inches lost around the waist;
Body fat is down 4.3%;
12 pounds of fat lost;
4 pounds of muscle gained.

This is with several cheat days scattered throughout. For example, I had a few evenings out with beer. That definitely throws things off balance, but I’ll explain that later.

For those of you who are curious, Weight Watchers was no longer working for me. I decided to try The Zone, which has produced excellent results, thus far.

Mountain Biking Can Serve as a Weight-Bearing Activity and Promote Bone Density

Diane Ursu — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:42:48 +0000

This article was first published on August 12, 2009 as part of my Examiner column.

Weight-bearing exercise is recommended because it promotes bone health and slows the development of osteoporosis, which is the decrease of bone density due to mineral loss. According to the article, “Exercising with osteoporosis: Stay active the safe way,” by the Mayo Clinic Staff, “Weight-bearing aerobic activities involve doing aerobic exercise on your feet, with your bones supporting your weight . . . These types of exercise work directly on the bones in your legs, hips and lower spine to slow mineral loss. They can also provide cardiovascular benefits, which boost heart and circulatory system health.”

It is likely that mountain biking promotes bone
growth while road cycling does not.

Cycling is known as a non-weight-bearing exercise. It is low-impact since the rider sits on the saddle and pedals. Most mountain bikers believe that they do not reap the benefits of weight-bearing activity since they ride a bike, but they may be wrong. This may be one case where ignorance is bliss, but then again, so is knowledge.

Many riders are recreational cyclists who sit on the bike and ride gentle terrain, whether it is relatively flat, smooth singletrack or unpaved rail-to-trails. Some riders take a much more aggressive approach, however. They ride rocky and rooty terrain with long descents and challenging, steep climbs. This style of riding requires the rider to get out of the saddle and stand for much of the ride. Rigid mountain bikes require the ankles, knees, and hips to serve as shock absorbers, as with any classic weight-bearing exercise, such as running. Even with full suspension bikes, the rider uses his or her legs as shock absorbers.

Anyone who has made a long descent down somewhat aggressive terrain knows that getting out of the saddle is necessary for a comfortable, safe ride. Standing also allows the rider to make subtle weight adjustments to keep the bike balanced over varying terrain. While going downhill is often seen as an opportunity for rest, many riders know otherwise. Standing for long periods of time while navigating down difficult descents can leave the calves burning and the heart and lungs working hard. Stiff shoes are necessary for comfort while the feet support the weight of the rider.

Some uphill climbs require the rider to get out of the saddle for a standing climb. The rider mashes down on the pedals and uses the arms and upper back to get leverage while pulling on the handlebar. The rider’s weight is fully supported by the feet on the pedals, not the seat.

Mountain biking often requires the rider to stand
and absorb impact from riding trail obstacles and
features.

S.E. Warner, J.M. Shaw, and G.P. Dalsky published their study, “Bone mineral density of competitive male mountain and road cyclists,” comparing the bone densities of road and mountain cyclists in the January 2002 issue of Bone, the Official Journal of the International Bone and Mineral Society. The study demonstrated a higher bone mineral density (BMD) in mountain cyclists. The authors of the study stated that, “Higher BMD in the mountain cyclists suggests that mountain cycling may provide an osteogenic stimulus that is not inherent to road cycling.” Osteogenesis is the development of new bone.

Mountain biking offers the best of both worlds. It is a low-impact exercise that is relatively safe for the joints. For more aggressive mountain bikers, it can also be a weight-bearing activity that may stimulate the development of new bone tissue. Barring any unforeseen, clavicle-busting accidents, mountain biking can be quite good for bone health.

Related Article to Mountain Biking as a Weight-Bearing Activity

Moronacity: Mountain Biking IS a Weight-Bearing Activity